


The Art of Weaving (Communication is Key)

by whatarubberchicken



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Curtis Ships Sheith, Endgame Sheith, Galra Traditions, Galra customs, Gay Disaster Shiro (Voltron), Getting Together, Hair Braiding, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Kuron is a Disembodied Voice, M/M, Minor Curtis/Shiro (Voltron), POV Shiro (Voltron), Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Shiro (Voltron), Shiro (Voltron) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Shiro (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Voltron Secret Santa 2020, post-season 8
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 17:33:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28585785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatarubberchicken/pseuds/whatarubberchicken
Summary: Shiro loves Keith. Of that, he never had any doubt. But with everything in their past haunting them (and a rather impressive amount of denial making it seemingly impossible to talk), there must be another way to convey his feelings, right?How many people does it take to get two Black Paladins together?
Relationships: Curtis/Shiro (Voltron), Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 48





	The Art of Weaving (Communication is Key)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ike](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ike/gifts).



> For scissorman over on Tumblr, for the Voltron Secret Santa 2020! And inspired by a sketch by the wonderful [Sa ☆ Lightning Strikes](https://lightningstrikes-art.tumblr.com/).  
> Merry Christmas, and I hope you like it! (when I saw your prompts, I couldn't resist!)

_They were back on the cloning station. He crouched above Keith, pushing him into the cold steel below, searing a welt into the younger man’s perfect cheek as…_

_“SHIRO, PLEASE! I LOVE YOU!!”_

Shiro woke up with a gasp, tears already streaking down his face. He quickly covered his mouth to muffle any escaping cries or whimpers while he got his breath back. Then he remembered—he was alone in his bedroom again. There was no one to wake up if he decided to finally let himself go.

A sob escaped him. Then another. He tried to stifle them as best he could with his hands.

Finally, he gave up and grabbed a pillow to clutch against his face as he screamed in frustration. After so many years of hiding his feelings about anything and everything (gotta be the adult, gotta be the leader—gotta be in control at all times), it was just natural to pretend he was muffling his sounds from someone. Fortunately, it didn’t take long before the sobs turned to shaky breaths, and he threw the pillow aside to go wash his face in the bathroom.

God, the look on Keith’s face. The desperation and _terror_. All of it, because of Shiro. He’d spent _years_ with Keith; good times and bad, had watched him grow from a boy into a man, and still, that look overshadowed every other interaction and memory.

And now, the evidence of his own weakness—his own corruption—was carved into the face of his best friend. Shiro’s stomach dropped every time he so much as glanced at Keith. He looked up at the mirror as he dried his face, his breath catching when his reflection appeared to glare at him.

 _‘Stop that,’_ he could practically hear Kuron say in his mind. _‘We’ve discussed this._ Haggar _did that to Keith, not you or me.’_

Shiro took another deep breath. They _had_ discussed it. Long conversations with both a therapist and himself—deep meditation where he talked to himself in such a lively discussion that it was hard to remember that Kuron was a part of him now and not actually talking to him.

 _‘Focus, Shiro,’_ he reminded himself, taking another shuddering breath. _‘Keith was never as helpless as you’re imagining. He held his own against you. He kicked your ass, actually. Remember?’_

He chuckled at himself.

_“SHIRO, PLEASE! I LOVE YOU!!”_

He winced as the memory of the dream reverberated through him.

 _‘It didn’t happen like that,’_ Kuron reminded him, steadying him in his mind. ‘ _He called you his brother, remember? He was trying to reason with you most of the time; he wasn’t desperate and begging. Which is rather unfortunate,’_ he added with a soft chuckle, _‘I’d_ like _to see him begging.’_

‘Can you _not_ be horny for my friend for like two minutes, please?’ Shiro grumbled at his reflection.

Kuron laughed again _. ‘I’m_ you _, buddy.’_

Shiro shook his head at the mirror. Yeah, he was pretty messed up….

A _poof_ distracted him from his thoughts, and he looked over to see Kosmo laying on his bed. More importantly, Keith was lying beside the cosmic wolf. Thrashing. And not in the fun way.

“Keith!” Shiro exclaimed, abandoning the bathroom to get to his friend.

“Shiro! Shiro, please!” Keith cried, still thrashing with his eyes closed. Shiro stopped dead in his tracks. A nightmare, then. He felt his heart ache at the pain on Keith’s face. He could only imagine the nightmare his friend must be having. In fact, it was probably pretty close to the one Shiro had just woken up from—

“Shiro, please, don’t leave me!”

Shiro blinked. _Or, maybe not…._

“Keith,” he called softly, sitting on the bed beside him. “Keith, I’m here. Everything is fine. You’re safe now.”

“Shiro, no! I love you!” Keith screamed, sitting up with his arm outstretched.

Shiro froze. He didn’t dare move as he watched Keith gasp, trying to get his breath back. Keith’s eyes were still blank and unseeing as he attempted to wake up the rest of the way and get out of whatever situation his dream had conjured for him.

 _‘Huh,’_ Shiro heard Kuron say in his mind, _‘maybe Curtis was onto something after all.’_ Hope flashed through him, and Shiro ruthlessly pushed it back down.

 _‘Now is not the time,’_ he reminded himself.

“Keith?” he called out loud.

Keith looked up at him wildly. “Shiro?! What are you doing in my bedroom?”

Shiro gave a little laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. Well, this was awkward. “Actually, you’re in _my_ bedroom,” he said. “I think Kosmo must’ve heard you yell my name and assumed you wanted to find me.” He gestured to the huge cosmic wolf, who was innocently wagging his tail like the good boy he knew he was.

Keith slowly turned bright red, looking from Shiro to Kosmo and back again. If he hadn’t been so embarrassed himself, Shiro would’ve said it was fascinating to watch. Especially the way he opened and shut his mouth, like he was going to say something and then chose not to.

Eventually, Kosmo looked between them, gave a strange little huff, and promptly disappeared. Keith gaped at the space he left behind.

“Oh no,” he groaned. “Now I have to walk back in nothing but my underwear.”

Oh. Oh wow. It had totally escaped Shiro’s notice that his friend was almost completely nude. He quickly looked away as Keith burrowed into his blankets for both modesty and warmth. It was a bit chilly on the Atlas tonight. Belatedly, Shiro reached for their connection and asked the ship to turn the heat up a few degrees so Keith could be more comfortable.

 _You sure?_ The ship seemed to rumble in amusement. _He looks pretty comfortable in your bed._

And he did. Keith had made a little nest in Shiro’s bed and was already relaxing. Probably just resting before trying to streak through the halls… _._ It was Shiro’s turn to blush.

“You can always borrow some of my clothes,” he offered, turning even redder at the thought of Keith dressed up in his clothes. They’d be noticeably too big for him, so anyone who saw Keith would probably assume—

Shiro halted that train of thought before it could get anywhere. In his head, Kuron whined in disappointment and pouted.

 _‘If you don’t stop being lewd, I’ll—,’_ Shiro growled at his clone.

 _‘You’ll what?’_ Kuron teased _. ‘Self-harm is generally frowned upon. Oh, and he’s talking to you.’_ Shiro snapped out of the conversation to focus on Keith.

“—have your rank on them, so I think people might notice that they’re yours. And then we’ll get all sorts of rumors going. Can’t you just move the Atlas so our bedrooms are right next to each other for two seconds?” Keith asked.

“Unfortunately, no,” Shiro said with a grimace. “Sam installed a ship-wide alert system that activates whenever the Atlas transforms itself, so people aren’t caught unawares anymore. Like that time Griffin accidentally got stuck in the head for an hour when we did a maintenance test on the transformation sequence.”

Keith laughed. “Oh yeah. That was hilarious.”

“Right?” Shiro said, also grinning. He sobered quickly. “So, unless you wanna wake everyone up….”

“No, no,” Keith sighed, moving to get up. “Guess I’m streaking.”

“You don’t have to,” Shiro sputtered. “I mean—you could borrow some of my gym clothes, they don't have my rank on them and they might fit you better than my other ones would….” He trailed off when he noticed Keith was blushing again, far darker than when he’d suggested running through the halls of the Atlas in nothing but his tighty-whities. Kuron also noticed, and pointed it out with glee.

 _‘He’s blushing! He’s blushing! He likes the idea of wearing your clothes—of being_ claimed _so obviously by—’_

“I don’t think anyone would believe I was on the training deck at three o’clock in the morning,” Keith murmured, unaware that he was interrupting Kuron’s joyful tirade. “I haven’t done that in years. Hunk and Lance would probably try to stage an intervention or something.”

“Heh, yeah,” Shiro said, trying not to sound too awkward as he desperately tried to shut his inner voice up. “Well, you could always stay until morning.”

_I did not just say that out loud._

_Did I just say that out loud?!_

Kuron was curiously silent. So was Keith. Shiro looked up to see the younger man staring at him with a very deer-in-the-headlights look.

“What? There’s plenty of room here,” he said, trying to sound innocent as he gestured to his large bed. “And we’ve shared a rack before. It doesn’t have to get awkward.”

Keith mumbled something he couldn’t hear.

“What?”

“Nothing. Nevermind.”

Shiro was still suspicious, but he decided to let it slide. “And then, in the morning, we can just say we did an early sparring session before our meetings. Nobody will question that.”

Keith took a deep breath, looking around the room for a moment before finally nodding.

“Better than running around in your underwear in the dead of night like a bad hook up,” Shiro joked, giving him an encouraging smile.

Keith laughed. “Fine, fine, twist my arm to get me to stay in your big, warm bed,” he sighed, snuggling back down into Shiro’s blankets. He looked over when Shiro joined him, easing into the blankets and trying to avoid the now-occupied half.

“Do I get a kiss goodnight?” Keith teased, puckering his lips.

Shiro blinked and then, before he could overthink it, he leaned over, grasped Keith’s chin, and gave him a soft, lingering kiss on the forehead. _‘He’ll write it off as me playing along with the joke anyway,’_ he reasoned before he could work himself into a panic about actually kissing the young man. Especially when he pulled away and that deer-in-the-headlights look was back in full force on Keith’s face.

“’Night, Keith,” he said, giving the other man a smile, closing his eyes and snuggling into his own pillow. _‘I will not panic. I will not panic,’_ he chanted at himself, trying to exude a sense of calm while praying that Keith’s Galra senses couldn’t pick up how fast his heart was racing.

“’Night, Shiro.”

Shiro peeked an eye open to see Keith resting beside him, relaxed and smiling peacefully. It was a far cry from his earlier panic, or him thrashing about in the throes of a nightmare. Instead he looked… sublime.

 _‘He is so beautiful,_ ’ he and Kuron gushed at the same time. And he was sure he’d felt a bit of stubble under his fingers when he’d touched Keith’s chin earlier. _‘Beautiful and so grown up,’_ he thought fondly, his heart aching.

It was going to hurt so hard when Keith fell in love with someone.

 _‘No, no, I’ll be happy if he’s happy,’_ he reminded himself. _‘He watched_ me _get married with a smile on his face. How could I call myself his friend if I didn’t do the same?’_

 _‘Besides,’_ Kuron added slyly, ‘ _Curtis could be right, and_ you _could be the one Keith’s in love with.’_

 _‘Don’t,’_ Shiro groaned at himself. _‘Don’t get my hopes up. I don’t wanna….’_

But, unbidden, the memory rose to the surface.

* * *

_Shiro looked up from his paperwork when he heard the knock on the door. “Come in,” he said automatically. He was, however, surprised to see his husband come through the door._

_"Curtis, hi," he said. He glanced at the paperwork on his desk. "Sorry, but this isn't a great time right now. I have a meeting in less than a minute."_

_Curtis smiled. “I know,” he said, “I'm the one you're meeting with. I scheduled this last week.”_

_Shiro blinked in surprise as Curtis took a seat on the other side of the desk, relaxing and leaning back, even going so far as to put a foot on Shiro’s desk. Shiro looked at it, confused._

_“You—you did?” He couldn't help asking._

_Curtis gave him another lazy smile. “And how sad is it that I have to schedule a_ meeting _to get any time with my husband?” he asked._

_Shiro felt his face flame. “Oh no. Curtis, I'm sorry—things have just gotten so—"_

_“I know,” Curtis said easily. “That's why I wanted to talk to you.”_

_Shiro felt a little ball of dread settle in his stomach. This couldn't be good. The thing that confused him the most, however, was how calm Curtis was being. Adam had used to yell when they fought. Curtis… Curtis was actually smiling. And not in a mean way._

_“Takashi,” he said, still looking amused, “do you know how I got to where I am today? Being on the bridge of the Garrison’s biggest and most powerful flagship? It wasn’t because of you.”_

_“Wha—” Shiro started._

_Curtis held up a hand. “I got my position before we even met,” he reiterated. “And I_ earned _it, fair and square,_ by being observant. _”_

_Shiro swallowed, getting more nervous by the minute. “Why do I feel like you’re building up to something?”_

_Curtis gave him a pointed look. “Because I’ve been observing you. And you’re not happy,” he said simply. “With me.”_

_“What?!” Shiro squawked. “Of course I am! Curtis, baby, if I ever made you feel like—”_

_Curtis held up a hand again and Shiro snapped his mouth shut. “I’m sorry,” Curtis said. “I phrased that badly. You_ are _happy with me. Well… a better word would be… content.” He nodded at himself. “Yeah, that’s the one.” He smiled again as Shiro stared at him, dumbfounded. “I know why you married me, Shiro. You’ve been through so much—you wanted your happy ending. And I was happy to give that to you. It’s something you absolutely deserve, and I was honored when you chose me. I love you so much. But lately, I’ve been wondering if you didn’t choose me for a different reason.”_

_“What—?” this time, Shiro cut himself off before Curtis could. Obviously, his husband had more to say on the matter, and the least Shiro could do was hear him out. He felt that pit of lead in his stomach sink further. His heart should be breaking right now, shouldn’t it? Instead, he just felt… tired. Resigned. Like he’d been waiting for something like this to happen._

_“Shiro, you don’t stay at work until after midnight each night because you love your job.”_

_“There’s a lot of work to do!” Shiro protested. “I have reports, and meetings—”_

_“And plenty of subordinates to help you out,” Curtis agreed, nodding. “All of whom get off each day at 1600 on the dot. You make sure of it. Or did you forget that I’m one of them? I’ve even offered to stay with you and help you finish up. You always say no. We get one night a week where we actually eat supper together on a regular basis, and that was because I insisted on it.”_

_Well, now Shiro felt like a heel. Even worse was the fact that he couldn’t refute any of Curtis’s facts. Okay, so he had to apologize and try to do better. He could absolutely do better—_

_“But you sure rescheduled all of your meetings and paperwork quick when Keith got back two weeks ago.”_

_Shiro’s head snapped up. Oh no, had he? Oh man. Oh no, this must look so bad…._

_Curtis started laughing. “You know,” he said, between chuckles, “I might’ve actually been mad about it if you didn’t look so completely bewildered right now. But it’s obvious—and not just to me, by the way—that you don’t even realize you’re doing it. You don’t even realize how_ gone _you are over that boy, do you.”_

 _Gone was that pit of dread in Shiro stomach, replaced by an adrenaline rush so intense that it both thrilled and terrified him._ ‘You’re in love with Keith,’ _a voice in his head seemed to sing_. ‘You’re in love with him and everybody knows it.’ _Shiro hadn’t moved from his seat, but he was suddenly having a hard time breathing._

_“Curtis,” he said slowly, trying to keep calm, “if I’ve ever given you a reason to doubt my loyalty to you….”_

_“Pfft, you? Never,” Curtis said dismissively. “It’s not in you to cheat, Shirogane. Just like it’s not in Keith’s nature to go behind someone’s back. He’s too straightforward for that. Nah, you’re both just dumbasses who won’t admit their true feelings for each other.”_

_Shiro gaped at his husband. “Wha—? How—how can you say that?!”_

_“Because it’s true,” Curtis said smugly. He nodded to himself. “It’s true and somebody should say it. Yup. You’re_ content _with me. With_ him _ **,** though… you light up the room.”_

_Shiro’s breath left him as he and Curtis stared at each other. Curtis was the first to look away._

_“I thought maybe it was just rumors until I saw you two together again,” he said, still smiling. “I haven’t seen you that animated in months. Talking and laughing…. You barely even smiled in the weeks prior to that. I thought maybe_ I _was doing something wrong; that I was failing you somehow….” He took a deep breath. “You have no idea what a relief it was to realize that it wasn’t_ me _.”_

_Shiro could only stare at Curtis. Was that what this feeling was? Relief? That heavy weight in his stomach was gone. He could breathe easier. But thinking about approaching Keith with this information—that set off a shot of terror racing through his veins. Then he realized Curtis was watching him and nodding, like he could hear the thoughts swimming in Shiro’s brain._

_“I thought maybe I could ride it out,” he said. “I knew you’d come to me if you realized we needed to do something differently—and like I said, neither of you would be able to carry on an affair if your lives depended on it—I mean, I watched you two for a long time, wondering why the hell you weren’t together even before you asked me out, and I figured that maybe something was holding you back from being with him—something you simply decided not to share with me.”_

_Images of Keith’s face swam in Shiro’s vision. The scar._ My fault—my fault—my fault…. _He winced. “Curtis—”_

_“And then I realized the answer was staring me right in the face,” Curtis said, shaking his head at himself. “Of course you never made a move; you met him when he was still just a kid! And you were his mentor, right?”_

_“No, Curtis, that’s not—” Shiro stopped himself. Ehh, if he was being honest…. “Well, that’s_ part _of the reason—”_

_“You realize he’s grown up since then, right? He hasn’t been a kid for a while. You are aware of that?”_

_“Yes,” Shiro stressed. So much. Oh, I am so aware of it. It’s not_ fair _for one man to look that beautiful._

_“And you realize that there is no way he’s going to agree to come back to the Garrison, right?”_

_“What does that have anything to do with it?” Shiro asked, bewildered._

_“You’re not his superior anymore,” Curtis explained. “You’re not his commander, the Garrison can’t get after you for dating a subordinate like they did with me; I’d hesitate to even call you his mentor when he can wipe the training mat with you. So, there’s no power imbalance. ‘Cause I know that kind of thing bothers you in a relationship—you asked me at least five times if I was okay during the first hour of our first date,” he said, grinning at the memory._

_“I didn’t want you to think I was taking advantage of my position,” Shiro muttered, frowning._

_“I know. You’re a good man, Shiro.”_

_“So, why does this sound like you’re letting me go?”_

_“Because I am,” Curtis said, fishing a datapad out of his pocket. “You’re a good man, and a great friend, but I think we both know we work better as_ just _friends. Especially when you have someone else who can give you so much more than I ever could. So, before we try to rip each other’s hearts out trying to make this work, here’s my Christmas gift to you.” He handed the datapad to Shiro. “Permission to be happy.”_

_Shiro gaped at the open document on the datapad. It was divorce papers, already filled out, dated, and awaiting his signature._

_“How did you get this?” he sputtered. “It takes months for this kind of paperwork to go through!”_

_“I have some friends in legal,” Curtis said smugly. “And I sicced Veronica on them too. The entire bridge crew agrees with me, by the way. Their stipulation for helping us was to make sure I told you that you have to talk to each other.” He shook his head. “Watching you two pine after each other is like watching starving orphans begging for food and not being able to do anything about it.”_

_Shiro blinked. “Wait, wait,” he said, his head spinning with all this new information, “you think Keith feels….”_

_“The same way about you?” Curtis finished, raising an eyebrow. “Yes. Absolutely yes. You are_ literally _the only person who hasn’t noticed it.”_

_“That’s impossible,” Shiro said, not daring to hope. He didn’t dare…._

_“You know, usually I_ like _reading about slow burns. But this has just gotten painful.”_

_“He considers me his brother,” Shiro exclaimed. “He told me so himself!”_

_“Of course he does, Shiro,” Curtis said, sounding exasperated. “Before you, that boy had_ one _good relationship with a grown man, and that was his father. I thought I was straight for 15 years of my life, does that mean I have to be straight now? No. Feelings evolve. Relationships evolve. But, for quiznak’s sake, sign those papers and at least tell him how you feel. Please.”_

 _The terror was back, full force, at the thought of actually telling Keith about these feelings. He was old and gross, maimed and traumatized. A former commander—a father figure—a_ brother _figure—_ the literal enemy who had carved a mark into Keith’s skin _ **—**_

 _“It—it won’t work,” he said shakily, watching Curtis stand up and walk around to join him on his side of the desk. “I_ can’t!”

_Curtis pulled him to his feet and into a tight hug, pressing a kiss into Shiro’s hair. “You can. You just have to talk to him,” he said._

_“Can’t things just stay the way they are?” Shiro whined, burying his face in Curtis’s shoulder. “I do love you. We can make this work.” He felt the other man laugh._

_“I know,” Curtis said, pulling Shiro away from himself just enough to look him in the eye, “I love you too. And I will always be here for you. But I won’t be your shield when I can see how much this is hurting you. And you—you can’t promise me your heart when it already belongs to someone else. Why try to make it work when you have something so much better just waiting for you?”_

* * *

That had been more than a month ago, and Shiro still hadn’t done anything about it. Well, he hadn’t done anything about his feelings. He’d signed the papers, separated his and Curtis’s quarters, and even done some research on Galra dating and betrothal traditions (the book had suddenly somehow showed up in his quarters one day), but having Keith in his bed right now was the closest he’d gotten to any sort of a confrontation about his feelings. And even now, he knew he was dodging the question.

 _‘It’s different, though,’_ he thought, watching Keith’s breath even out; his face relaxed and soft _. ‘I never felt this way with Curtis. I knew he liked me when we started dating, and I was sure he’d say yes by the time I proposed. If Keith rejects me….’_ His heart throbbed in pain. _‘It might actually kill me. And he has_ so many _reasons to reject me,’_ he added, their past flashing before his eyes. _‘Hundreds, (maybe thousands!) of people must be lining up to be with him…. What can I possibly offer him?’_

 _‘Your heart?’_ Kuron suggested. _‘It’s his anyway. Curtis was right about that.’_

Shiro smiled and reached out to brush Keith’s hair back from his face. Just before his fingers touched the stray bangs, however, Keith drew in a quick breath. Shiro froze. He couldn’t. He didn’t dare wake Keith up. He withdrew his hand and contented himself with watching his friend sleep until his own eyelids grew too heavy to stay open.

“I love you,” he whispered, so softly he could barely hear himself.

* * *

Shiro woke up the next morning to the sound of his alarm and groaned. Meetings waited for no man, not even idiots in love. Fools who kept having nightmares about the ones they loved? Also not exempt.

 _Wait_.

Shiro’s eyes shot open and he sat straight up in bed, instinctively seeking out the sleeping form beside him. He was met by the sight of Keith’s dark amethyst eyes already watching him.

“Hi,” he said awkwardly.

Keith smiled. “Hi.”

“I mean, um, good morning! I hope my alarm didn’t wake you—but I have a meeting in twenty minutes that I have to get to—,” Shiro rambled.

“S’okay, Shiro,” Keith murmured, stretching. “I have the same meeting.”

“Oh. Right.”

“Right.”

….

“We should probably get up then, huh?”

“Yeah.”

….

 _‘It should not be this awkward to have a perfectly normal conversation with your best friend,’_ Shiro thought furiously _. ‘You know, the night after you slept together.’_

 _‘Slept!’_ he emphasized frantically in his mind. ‘ _SLEPT. Only slept! Sleep. Sleeping. Sleeping in the same bed. No weird shenanigans involving declarations of love, heavy breathing, or the fact that Keith is still mostly naked—dammit Kuron, get out of my head!!’_

Laughter echoed in Shiro’s brain.

“So, um, do you still wanna borrow some of my clothes?”

 _‘Oh, well done, Shiro,’_ Kuron said, clapping sarcastically. _‘That wasn’t awkward AT ALL.’_

“Sure,” Keith said, sounding perfectly normal and not at all like the inner mess Shiro was, “I don’t wanna be streaking when there are people awake to see me.”

“Right, haha,” Shiro said, trying not to be weird about all this and failing abysmally. He snapped his mouth shut before he could dig himself into a deeper hole and tossed Keith some of his (clean!) gym clothes. Keith immediately pulled them on with a quick thanks.

 _‘Is he… snuggling into that shirt?’_ Kuron asked. Shiro blinked and took a second look. Keith seemed normal. Doing more stretches, just getting ready for the day…. _‘I swear it looked like he was sniffing it for a second.’_

 _‘Maybe he just likes the smell of fresh laundry?’_ Shiro thought, determined to ignore it. He would not think of Keith enjoying his scent. Or the way he’d snuggled into the blankets last night and breathed deep. Or— _no, Shiro. No._

 _‘Coward,’_ Kuron grumbled.

 _‘I am not!’_ Shiro exclaimed, offended. _‘I’m just… not good at talking about my feelings!’_

 _‘Then_ do _something!’_

Not for the first time, Shiro wished that his disembodied clone wasn’t so infuriatingly right. He needed to do something. Keith was right there! They were all alone. What better time to talk about their feelings? Ugh, if only he wasn’t so afraid he’d mess everything up! If only he had a hint that Keith would welcome his affection! If only there was a way to convey the message without actually talking… he was so sure he was going to say something wrong. He watched in fascination as Keith combed his hands through his hair, pulling it back to tie into a ponytail. The problem was, his hair was still short enough that some of the strands would fall out, curling back around to frame his face.

_Perfect!_

“Hey, Keith,” he said, trying to sound a lot less excited than he felt, “do you want me to braid your hair for you?”

Keith froze, his eyes shooting up to Shiro again. It was common for Galra couples to do each other’s hair, especially braids. (At least, according to the book that had appeared in his room.) Surely Keith must know that too!

“Oh, you don’t have to,” Keith said softly. “I don’t wanna cause you any trouble. I’ve got it.”

Shiro pouted. It wasn’t a rejection, per say. Maybe Keith didn’t know what it meant? Curtis and the others had all sounded so sure that he reciprocated Shiro’s feelings. He’d been starting to get his hopes up.

“It’s no trouble,” he tried again. “I’ve been practicing.”

Keith looked startled for a moment. “You—you have?”

“Yeah,” Shiro admitted. “It’s actually incredibly soothing and keeps my hands busy if I start to have a panic attack or I get a little tense from a bad meeting or something.” He laughed. Sometimes it seemed like the universe was still trying to kill him. “I even keep some pieces of yarn in my office for it.”

Keith seemed to deflate and Shiro wondered if he’d said something wrong. Darn it, he knew he was going to say something wrong! What had he said wrong? But then Keith shrugged and turned his back to Shiro. “Sure, if you want to,” he said, still sounding normal.

Shiro tried not to pout as he sat down behind Keith and got started combing through it with his fingers. Keith must not know how important this was to Galra couples, that was why he was being so calm. All that research for nothing. Oh well. At least Keith’s hair was soft and silky. This was going to be nice, even if it wasn’t some alien declaration of love. It meant something to Shiro. Plus, he’d get to look at Keith today and know that he was the one who’d done his hair. That wasn’t bad.

Maybe Keith would even let him take a picture. Ok, now he had to make this good. Super good, he decided, remembering all the things braids signified to the Galra.

Keith relaxed under his hands and even let out a little contented sigh as Shiro combed his hair with his fingers. Shiro smiled. At least he knew his touch wasn’t completely unwelcome. He focused on dividing the hair into three parts and getting even amounts of hair in each part, being extra careful not to pull too hard. He didn’t want to hurt Keith. Still, hair was a far cry from a single string of yarn, and Keith’s hair kept slipping out of his grip. He ended up yanking a bit on one side, mortified when Keith let out a little ‘oof.’

“Sorry,’ he muttered.

“S’okay,” Keith said, sounding amused.

From what Shiro could see, Keith had the biggest smile on his face, which seemed… kind of out of character for someone who’d just gotten their hair pulled. Maybe it hadn’t hurt as much as he’d thought. Shiro breathed a little easier and went back to concentrating on his braid.

This was going to be the best braid ever! Not too tight, not too loose—Keith was going to regret having to take it out later!

Less than halfway down, Shiro had to concede—this might not be the best braid. It was still too loose! But he didn’t want to pull any harder, not when Keith was relaxed in front of him, humming in contentment at having his hair played with.

“Ugh,” Shiro finally said, disgusted with himself. “Do you want me to try again?”

“I’m sure it’s fine, Shiro.”

He started to comb it back out. “I’m gonna try again.”

“Don’t you have a meeting here soon?”

“The meeting can wait,” Shiro snapped. “I’m going to get this right.”

“Okay,” Keith said in a small voice. From what Shiro could see, he was blushing again and biting his lip to stop himself from smiling. He must be laughing at Shiro. Yeah. He definitely needed a better braid.

‘ _I’m gonna make you stop laughing, you brat,_ ’ he thought fiercely. _‘You and your beautiful face, and your gorgeous hair and your smile that can light up the whole ship—'_

His alarm beeped out the five-minute warning he gave himself to never be late for a meeting. He groaned and reached over for his comm.

“Veronica,” he called, “delay the meeting for five minutes.”

“Roger that, captain.”

“You’re not dressed yet,” Keith reminded him.

“Right. Ten minutes, Veronica,” Shiro corrected.

“Wait. Is that Keith there with you?!” Veronica exclaimed, excitement lacing through her tone.

“No!”

Shiro hung up on her.

Keith turned to look at him with an eyebrow raised. Yeah, that hadn’t been suspicious at all. Shiro reached out and turned Keith’s head facing forward so he could get back to this infernal braid. He didn’t want to deal with any sass or rumors right now, thank you.

“Shiro—”

“Quiet. Hair tie.”

Keith obediently gave it to him and Shiro quickly tied off the end of what had to be the Worst Braid Ever. He growled when Keith reached back to pat at it.

“It feels fine, Shiro, thank you,” Keith said, more generous than any one person had a right to be.

“I’ll keep practicing,” Shiro promised. Keith blushed again.

“Okay, well, I’m going to go back to my room to get my own clothes for the meeting,” he said, backing out of Shiro’s room, almost like he was fleeing. “I’ll see you there!” he called on his way out. Shiro felt his heart drop for a moment, and then realized that he only had a few stolen minutes to get ready for the meeting himself.

He distracted himself from his own failure as a love interest by focusing on getting cleaned up. He couldn’t wipe the smirk off Veronica’s face when he finally got there, nor the little eyebrow waggle she gave him (just like Lance’s! Exactly like Lance’s! Which meant he knew exactly what she was thinking when she did the little eyebrow waggle!) when Keith finally got there, a few minutes late. He was still sporting the braid, and Shiro saw several members of the Blades of Marmora (including Krolia) perk up when they saw it. He felt his face flame. Even if Keith didn’t know what it signified, _they_ certainly would! And they’d tell him! He needed to remember to talk to Keith immediately after the meeting, otherwise this was going to get seriously awkward. Ugh, why had he thought this was a good idea? This was obviously the Worst Idea Ever!

During the meeting, Shiro honestly couldn’t have told you what they talked about, but slowly, he had to admit that the braid didn’t look totally bad. It framed Keith’s face well—though that might just be Keith’s face—and Keith kept playing with the end of it with a dreamy look on his face (though that might’ve just been Shiro’s imagination) and, once or twice, he accidentally met Shiro’s eyes. They both looked away and tried to concentrate on the meeting.

The end of the meeting came sooner than Shiro expected and the Blades all took off (with Keith in tow), saying they needed to go train in one of the exercise rooms. Shiro almost got up to follow them, but then Veronica was at his shoulder with more documents and another meeting (this one much less formal) with the off-duty bridge crew in their personal lounge.

He did _not_ mope all the way there, thank you very much.

Curtis, Iverson, and the rest of the crew all looked up when Shiro and Veronica entered. Curtis, seated at the couch in the middle of the room, took one look at their faces and smirked.

“How’d he do?” he asked Veronica.

“ _Abysmal_ ,” she groaned. “If the meeting had been all about _Keith_ —”

“Hey!” Shiro protested.

“—or _the Blades_ —”

“I didn’t—”

“—he would’ve been fine,” she continued, talking over Shiro as if he weren’t there. “Five stars. Full attention. As it is, I can barely give him one star, and that’s for _eventually_ showing up. Did I tell you he was late?”

“You did,” Curtis nodded.

“Disrespect,” Shiro grumbled. “Disrespect from my entire crew….”

Veronica shot him a Look. “You told the senior Iotolan representative that we’d help them out of their _hairy situation_ ,” she deadpanned.

Shiro gulped. “So?”

“They’re lizards. They’re bald. And their ‘hairy situation’ was asking us to help them hold a parade for the anniversary of the end of the war,” Veronica folded her arms and gave Shiro a disbelieving look.

“Parades… can get hairy,” Shiro said slowly.

Veronica gave a long-suffering groan.

Curtis looked back and forth between them. “I’m confused. Hairy? Was there something wrong with Keith’s hair today?”

“Oh, he came in with a _braid_ ,” Veronica said, before Shiro could head her off.

Curtis lit up with excitement, looking at Shiro with wide eyes and a big smile. “You did it? You did it!”

“I—no… I—ugh, you’re not gonna believe this,” Shiro stammered, stumbling over to the couch. Curtis’s face fell when Shiro collapsed beside him.

“Oh no, baby, someone else got there first?!”

“No! No, _I_ braided his hair,” Shiro said quickly. “But he—he—” He buried his face in Curtis’s lap. “He didn’t react at all!”

“Oh,” Curtis said, reaching up to pat Shiro on the head comfortingly. “Oh no.”

“It was like he didn’t even know what it meant!”

“That’s impossible,” Veronica snapped. “He’s half-Galra; he has to know what it means!”

“Shiro,” Curtis said slowly, “did you ask him if he knew what it means?”

“No, I assumed he did!”

“And did you tell him _you_ know what it means?” he pressed, raising Shiro’s head so he could look him in the eye.

“Umm, no?” Shiro admitted. They hadn’t really talked about it at all. “He kinda fled the room afterwards.”

Every person in the room, besides Shiro, collectively groaned. Including Curtis, who threw his hands up in the air in frustration.

“How did we win the war?!” he asked Veronica.

“Beats me,” she said, rubbing her temples. “Defeating the Galra was a cakewalk compared to getting these two together. I even gave them a freaking handbook!”

“I knew it. I knew it was you!” Shiro said, pointing a finger at her.

“Then you know what you need to do right now!” she shot back.

He faltered. “Umm… no?” he admitted. “Give up and wait for another opportunity?” he tried.

Veronica threw her hands up. “That’s it! I’m calling Lance and telling him that ‘Operation: Lock Sheith in a Closet’ is a go.”

“No, belay that!” Curtis said. He turned back to Shiro. “You. Go and tell Keith you know what the braid means. Tell him how you feel. Tell him everything. Just go!”

“But I—”

“GO!”

“But the meeting—”

“We are literally about to start talking about how to increase our efficiency,” Iverson growled from his corner. “ _You_ can’t even concentrate on meetings anymore, Captain. We’ve got this. Go.”

Shiro opened his mouth to protest again, and every single person there pointed at the door.

He went.

In fact, as soon as he reached the hallway, he started running. They were right; this miscommunication between him and Keith had to stop! He should at least explain himself; the Blades had probably told Keith all about what a braid meant to a Galra couple—he must be so confused. Shiro quickened his pace. The Blades usually used Training Room 2, so that’s where he stopped, pausing for a moment to catch his breath.

Ok, he just had to go in and explain to his best friend—the person who looked up to him— _as a brother-mentor-friend_ —that he lov----ohhhh, he couldn’t do it!! What if he lost Keith forever?! What if Keith looked away awkwardly and told him he didn’t feel the same?! He needed to play this off as a joke—feign idiocy—Braid? What braid?

 _‘Don’t think about it anymore!’_ Kuron screamed at him. _‘Just **get in there!’**_

Shiro found himself stumbling through the Training Room doors, wondering just _how_ Kuron had done that. Inside the room, however, was his worst nightmare: Keith was curled up on the floor in Krolia’s lap, sobbing.

Before Shiro could say anything, or even announce his presence, two Blades near the door closed ranks to cut him off from Keith’s view and stop him from coming any further into the room. Shiro doubted Keith had even heard him come in. But, before he could protest, or really, say anything, he heard what the young man was saying to Krolia.

“—I’m the dumbass who called him my brother, why would he think any differently?!”

Shiro snapped his mouth shut.

“Well,” Krolia said slowly, her smile evident in her tone (she must’ve seen Shiro come in), “did you _ask_ him if he knows what the braid means?”

“Mom,” Keith groaned, using that same exasperated tone that a thousand children had used with their mothers, “he’s human. Braids don’t mean anything like that to him! Why would he think it’s any different for us when most Galra don’t even have hair?!”

“There’s a sizable population of us,” she teased. “Some have even written books about it.”

 _‘Oh, so she was in on this conspiracy…. Of course she was.’_ Shiro nearly smacked himself. Where else would Veronica get a book like _Galra Mating Customs and Traditions_?

“That doesn’t mean _he_ knows what it means! And I just sat there!” Keith mourned, “lost in my fantasy that he knew what it meant and knew what he was doing, and we were already a couple and all of my wildest dreams had come true—I should’ve said something! Anything! WHY didn’t I say something?!”

“Because you wanted to come beat us up in the training room instead,” one of the other Blades joked, rubbing his arm, which had probably gotten hit earlier, “though it doesn’t seem to be helping your situation much.” Krolia shot him a look and he immediately shut up. Her gaze trailed over to Shiro, who was still standing there, half-crouched and stunned at what he was hearing.

“Well, what would you have said to him?” Oh, Krolia was so _sly_ …Keith still hadn't seen him. Shiro swore that the two big, burly Galra in front of him were shaking in silent laughter.

“I don’t know?” Keith exclaimed. “’Hey, Shiro, did you know braids mean something special to Galra couples?’—he would’ve stopped immediately! I _can’t_ —just let me have this,” he pleaded, reaching up and stroking the braid. He looked up at his mother desperately. “Is there something I can put in my hair to preserve it? I wanna keep it like this forever.”

Shiro’s breath left him. The world suddenly shifted into focus, like something that had been horribly skewed was suddenly _right_. Keith sounded exactly like _he_ did, making these excuses. Keith wanted….

“That kind of negates the whole meaning of the braid,” Krolia was laughing. “It’s supposed to be a bonding time between couples, signifying—”

“—their dedication to each other and the effort they’ll put into the relationship,” Shiro finished for her, straightening up and pushing his way through the Blades blocking him from Keith’s sight. Keith’s head shot up and he whirled around to stare at Shiro with wide eyes.

“Shi…ro?” he whispered, sounding as stunned and shaken as Shiro felt.

“It means that you trust the other to guard your back and stand at your side,” Shiro continued, unable to stop reciting now that he’d started, “that you will always be there for each other, that your fates are _literally_ entwined, and that together you will weave order into the chaos of your lives.” He felt a smile creeping up on his face at how well it signified his relationship with Keith already.

Keith, who was staring at him, frozen, looking just as terrified as Shiro felt. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and glanced over to see Krolia and the other Blades silently leaving to give them some privacy. She threw him a wink.

“Some clans have their own specific styles,” Shiro said, trying to continue to recite as he met Keith’s bright eyes again. “I didn’t know if the Marmora had a tradition or not… And there's about a million other things about braids and Galra that I can't remember right now. I am so sorry I didn't tell you I knew what it meant. I thought I was good with words, but... But mostly I was afraid I’d say something wrong and drive you out of my life forever,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “I… I haven’t, have I?”

“Never,” Keith said fiercely, standing up and taking a step towards Shiro.

Suddenly, a giant space wolf was between them.

“KOSMO?!”

In the next instant, Shiro felt himself being poofed away—to some small, dark place that smelled like bleach. And then Kosmo was gone, leaving him and Keith alone… in what Shiro was quickly recognizing as a janitorial closet.

“What the—?”

“Are they both in there?” they heard a voice outside. Kosmo gave an eager bark as a response. “Good boy! Now, you go see Hunk for your treat, and remember to ignore them if they try to call you, okay?” Another affirmative woof.

“Lance!” Keith yelled, banging on the door of the closet. “Let us out, right now!”

“No can do, mullet boy,” Lance sang back. “’Operation: Lock Sheith in a Closet’ is in effect! You two are going to talk about your feelings if it kills you, and you have all afternoon to do it!”

“You can’t—we were already talking about our feelings!” Keith sputtered. “Your little plan interrupted us!”

“Really?!” Lance sounded excited. “Well, imagine that. Then you have plenty of time for other things then, I guess, ‘cause Pidge programmed the door not to open until suppertime—so don’t bother trying to slice the lock with your sword, mullet. And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” he called, his voice already getting further away.

 _‘Well, that kind of left the playing field wide open,’_ Shiro thought to himself, opening himself up to the Atlas. He nearly growled when she refused to answer his call. Of course they had turned the whole ship against him. In fact, the little voice in the back of his head sounded pretty smug about his situation.

“Lance!” Keith was roaring, pounding on the door some more. He sagged against it. “My hair isn’t even in a mullet right now,” he muttered, “it’s in a….”

He looked at Shiro. “You were serious back there, right?” he asked desperately. “You—you want me? As a mate?”

 _‘Oh God, that sounded so much hotter than it should,’_ Shiro thought, his face burning again. He cleared his throat.

“If you’ll have me,” he said.

“If I’ll—? Wha—? Shiro, why wouldn’t I want you?” Keith exclaimed, stepping closer.

“Lots of reasons,” Shiro said softly, trying to steady his breathing. ' _Okay, here we go....'_ “I’m older, for one thing.”

Keith snorted. “By a couple of years, sure. Or has that white hair gone to your head, old timer? It’s not like you’re old enough to be my father or anything.”

Shiro swallowed. “No, but you called me your brother.”

Keith winced and stepped closer so he could bang his head against Shiro’s chest. “Yeah, about that,” he said. “I… I was caught up in our fight and trying to say stuff—and it ended up coming out wrong. I only realized it later. What I meant to say was… I want you to be my _family_ ,” he admitted, looking up at Shiro, whose heart was currently doing a jig. “So, we’ll always be there for each other and have each other’s backs and all that other stuff you were saying in the training room.” He gave Shiro a hopeful smile.

Shiro could’ve burst into cheers right then and there— _God, he wanted to kiss him_ —but there were still a few things he needed to bring up.

“I’m scarred and I have PTSD.”

Keith gestured to himself. “Same.”

“I will most likely wake you up with a nightmare or two.”

“Ditto. And hey, I think we did all right last night after everything calmed down.”

 _‘Alright, he had to give him that. Now for the hardest part.’_ Shiro winced, his heart giving a twang as he reached up to cup the side of Keith’s face, running a thumb over the cheek with the scar.

“I gave you that,” he whispered, looking at what he could see of the scar in the darkness. “It’s unforgivable.”

“This?” Keith said, closing his eyes and leaning into the touch, his own hand coming up to hold Shiro’s in place. When he opened his eyes, they were Galra bright and glowing in the darkness. “I wear this with pride,” he said fervently. “Knowing I can beat anything—alien magic, brainwashing, even Death itself—and bring you back. I see this every day and remember... that you’re still alive. You’re still with me. And I’m so _glad_ , Shiro—”

Shiro had heard enough. He stepped forward and pulled Keith into a kiss, reveling in his quick gasp of surprise. Keith _melted_ against him and then (Shiro wanted to say he was surprised, but he wasn’t) he surged up against Shiro, pulling him closer, tighter, and turning the kiss into a frenzy of teeth and tongues. All Shiro could do was hold on and enjoy the ride as Keith gripped the back of neck—holding him in place like he was afraid Shiro would run away from him. Which was the furthest thing from Shiro's mind. Not when Keith was right here; hot and frantic and _in his arms—_

“I consider this your Mark,” Keith hissed in between kisses. “Do you know about mating marks too, Shiro?”

“Yes,” Shiro gasped out with a groan, trying to get a better grip on the slippery young man who kept nipping at his lips. Mating marks; that chapter had made him blush. The thought of Keith biting a mark into his shoulder… ohhh, he needed to calm down a bit!

“Good,” Keith growled, “I’m going to give you one as soon as we’re out of this stupid closet.”

That was not helping Shiro calm down one bit.

There was a poof, and suddenly there was a lot less space in their tiny closet.

“Ohhhh kay, your mom says I have to let you go, because apparently you two were _actually_ going to talk—SWEET MOTHER OF BOB!” Lance yelped. “MY EYES!”

“I’m going to kill him,” Keith muttered, not letting go of Shiro.

 _‘There is, in fact, a closet full of cleaning supplies right here to get rid of the mess afterwards,’_ Kuron added, nodding in agreement. Shiro shook his head at both of them

“Please don’t,” he said aloud, pulling Keith into a tight hug (partially to stop him from going after Lance and partially _just because he could_ —oh, that was a brilliant concept! He could hold him, touch him—whenever!) “Think of all the paperwork you’ll be saving me from.”

Keith grumbled a bit, still glaring at Lance.

“Okay, you two need to leave six inches for Jesus here!” Lance was saying, trying to motion them apart. They refused.

“You literally locked us in a closet!”

“Yeah, cause I forgot that you two go from zero to sixty in 0.2 seconds flat!”

“Only on a bad day,” Shiro muttered into Keith’s hair. Keith laughed, burying himself closer into Shiro’s chest.

“Exactly! Speed demons….”

Keith’s hand shot out and grabbed Shiro’s, pulling it over to rest on Kosmo’s fur. “Hey, boy,” he said to the cosmic wolf, grinning. “Three of those purple steaks you love are yours if you get us out of here and leave Lance behind.”

“WHAT?! Mullet, you—"

The rest was lost as Kosmo poofed away. Shiro liked to think that the space wolf went right back in to rescue Lance, but in truth, he was kind of distracted for the rest of the day. And most of the night.

Fortunately, he had lots of friends to reschedule all his events for him.


End file.
